Dutch far-right hits Muslims

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A bomb exploded at an Islamic school in the Netherlands
yesterday, spreading fear among the country's 900,000 Muslims who
have been subject to a wave of hate attacks in recent days.

Three mosques were targeted by arsonists and two by vandals at
the weekend, one of them daubed with offensive slogans and pigs
heads, in apparent reprisal attacks for the murder of a Dutch
filmmaker by a suspected Islamic extremist.

The blast took place before dawn at a Muslim school in the
southern city of Eindhoven, causing heavy damage but no injuries,
authorities said. Police say they have made no arrests.

Authorities have linked the string of attacks to the murder last
Tuesday week of controversial filmmaker and columnist Theo van Gogh
by a suspected radical Muslim of Moroccan origin who is now in
police custody.

Van Gogh was widely known for his criticism of Islam and
recently caused an uproar with a short film linking domestic abuse
with the perceived subservient position of women in the Islamic
faith.

Five other suspects, all of North African origin, have also been
arrested in relation to his murder.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende condemned the latest attacks
and appealed for an end to the spiral of violence. "We must . . .
avoid a climate of radicalisation. An attitude of 'us against them'
will not get us far," he said.

Eindhoven Mayor Alexander Sakkers lamented the escalation in
violence yesterday and appealed for calm. Amsterdam's council of
churches expressed its solidarity with the Muslim community through
an advertisement in a daily newspaper.

Muslim houses of worship and Islamic schools have been under
surveillance since van Gogh's murder but police patrols would be
stepped up, Mayor Sakkers said.

Eindhoven has about 20,000 Muslim inhabitants in a total
population of 210,000.

Authorities have linked the string of attacks to the murder last Tuesday week of . . . Theo van Gogh."

Driss el Boujoufi, deputy head of Ummon association, which
oversees some 90 Moroccan mosques in the country, also said that
security had been boosted at places of worship and in schools.

"We have asked our followers to be on the lookout around mosques
and schools," he said. "But most mosques don't have the means to
ensure security around-the-clock."

An internet site set up for condolences after van Gogh's murder
was forced to shut down because of a flood of racist messages.
Several far-right marches in Amsterdam failed to attract large
crowds.

Out of a population of 16 million the Netherlands has some
900,000 Muslims and of those about 300,000 are of Moroccan descent.
The authorities estimate that between 3 and 5 per cent of all Dutch
Muslims support radical ideas.

In recent days Dutch authorities have stepped up security for a
handful of politicians who have received threats from suspected
Muslim extremists.